The Motorola V3 had a 12-quarter reign as the country's best seller, NPD, a New York research firm said, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

It was a long reign for a business that thrives on technology innovation, the newspaper said.

The current top five best-selling phones include four that are "optimized for messaging and other advanced Internet features," NPD said.

Razr dropped to No. 2 behind Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s iPhone. The third best-selling handset is the Research In Motion BlackBerry Curve, LG's Rumor and LG's enV2.

The numbers, however, do not reflect purchases made by businesses, the report said.